Many individuals suffer a certain degree of unrecognized hearing sensitivity loss that generally does no become apparent until becoming severe enough to disrupt their lives. Human hearing sensitivity degrades very slowly over a long period of time. As such, it is not easily detected by those suffering from hearing sensitivity loss. Most individuals are unaware of their hearing condition because equipment and/or facility to measure hearing sensitivity is not generally available to the public without visiting a costly hearing specialist.
Hearing sensitivity loss is not just a natural phenomenon suffered by aging people, many individuals suffer the condition due to long exposure to loud noises from the environment such as construction sites, machine rooms, combustion engines, etc. Furthermore, due to the advent of portable audio devices such as portable music players and mobile phones, many young people also suffer from severe hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to loud music from setting the volume too loud while listening through a headset.
Conventionally, specially designed equipment operated by trained hearing specialists has been employed to measure hearing sensitivity. Due to the expense, many individuals avoid having their hearing sensitivity measured until it is too late. In general, individuals who approach the specialist for help have already developed severe hearing sensitivity loss which could have been prevented in an earlier stage.
Early detection of hearing sensitivity loss can allow for measures to be taken to prevent further deterioration.